OVERSEAS AVIATION (CHANNEL ISLANDS), LTD.: United Kingdom (1957-1961). Ex-Autair, Ltd. and Lufttransport Union, GmbH. (LTU) founder Ronald Myhill forms a new charter operation at Southend Airport in late 1957. On February 3, 1958, Myhill, with the assistance of his LTU partner and new managing director, Bernard Drom-goole, acquires a Vickers Viking from Universal Air Charters, Ltd. and operates it on behalf of both Overseas Aviation and its Basel-based owners. The aircraft initiates Southend-Basel charters on March 1. Two more Vikings are now obtained, in March and April respectively, joining the Swiss plane during the summer season in offering inclusive-tour flights to the Mediterranean and eastern Europe from Southend and from airports in West Germany. In November, a Canadair C-4 Argonaut is purchased from British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC).
Four more Argonauts are added during the first quarter of 1959 and these are employed to enhance the carrier’s inclusive-tour network from the U. K. and West Germany. Two Vikings are sold in December and one is leased to Martin’s Air Charter, B. V.
In January 1960, Myhill assists the owners of Copenhagen-based Flying Enterprise, A. S. to enter the inclusive-tour business, leasing them a pair of C-4s. Two C-4s are sold, in January and April. In June, company headquarters are transferred from Southend to Gatwick Airport and a Viking leased to Martin’s Air Charter, B. V. of Holland in 1959 is returned. Summer inclusive-tour flights from London (LGW), Manchester, and the West German airports are again flown. A Viking is added in November. By year’s end, the company is one of the major European charter companies.
Another Viking is added to the fleet in April 1961. As the tour season begins, destinations stretch from Scandinavia to North Africa and even across the Atlantic to the U. S. and Canada. One Argonaut is sold in January and another in May and three Vikings are also withdrawn.
On June 1, the surplus Trans Canada Airlines, Ltd. Canadair DC-4M-2 North Star fleet is purchased; 11 aircraft are delivered during the third quarter. The carrier’s first scheduled service is inaugurated on July 31, a DC-4M-2 flight from Prestwick to London (LGW) via Manchester. A Viking leased from Kay Rings in April is lost in a nonfatal crash landing at Lyons, France, on August 14.
It is now revealed, during license hearings, that company finances are dreadfully weak (it owes ?509,000-plus) and creditors now halt provision of its fuel supplies. Consequently, the final roundtrip revenue service is flown, London (LGW)-Lyon, on August 15. At this point, the U. K.’s second largest independent simply collapses, leaving 5,000 tourists stranded on the Continent to be rescued by other British nonscheduled carriers.
OVERSEAS NATIONAL AIRWAYS (1): United States (19501983). George Tompkins founds this large charter operation at New York in June 1950 to undertake overseas contracts on behalf of the USAF. The first civilian contract, for Youth Argosy and tour operator All Nations Institute, fizzles on July 4 when the CAB cancels New York-Europe student charters due to abuses by several charter carriers that carry not students, but war brides. Some 200 students are stranded in New York by the CAB’s action, which the agency claims was taken because ONA and other operators do not meet its standards.
Employing Douglas DC-4s and DC-6s, the company bids itself from one military contract to another throughout the 1950s, sometimes making and often losing income through the terms of its arrangements. Members of the flying public are not always appreciative.
On August 21, 1959, 50 of 90 passengers aboard a DC-6 en route from Frankfurt to New York refuse to continue their flight after the plane makes a second emergency landing at Shannon, Ireland. After a night on the ground, all do agree to resume boarding the next morning and the flight is completed without further incident. During the year, the aircraft broker Galco purchases most of the first 25 DC-7s of American Airlines and several of these will find their way to ONA in the next year or so.
A DC-7 collides with an L-749A at Oakland, California, on June 20, 1961 ; although no injuries are reported, the Douglas is badly damaged and must be written off.
A second ex-American Airlines DC-7 with five crew on a ferry flight suffers undercarriage failure upon landing at Norfolk, Virginia, on September 26 and runs into a ditch. Although it is damaged beyond repair, none of the crew is hurt.
As the result of too much underbidding (and consequently, loss during performance) of its contracts, ONA is forced to declare bankruptcy on October 29, 1963 and cease flying.
Possessed of an excellent operational reputation, ONA does not lose its CAB supplemental certificate and is able, under the leadership of Steedman Hinckley, to acquire $26 million in new capitalization from various banking interests. The refinancing allows orders to be placed for two new Douglas DC-8Fs and five DC-9s.
Piston-engine service is resumed on October 4, 1965 with two DC-7s. George Tomkins remains chairman/president and J. W. Bailey is named vice president/general manager. Revenues for the final quarter total $215,639. Start-up and operating expenses are $409,293, leaving a loss of $233,156.
Because of a CAB ruling in 1966, a number of supplementals, including ONA, are granted permanent authority to undertake inclusive-tour charters, affinity group charters, and single entity charters to transatlantic and Caribbean markets in April and September. Meanwhile, two more DC-7s are placed into service and in April and in June the two DC-8-55CFs are delivered.
Revenues for the year are $10,568,404. An operating profit of $1,637,064 is earned, as is a net profit of $906,652.
On June 28, 1967, the carrier becomes a public corporation. At year’s end, the workforce is 340 and the fleet includes 2 DC-8-55CFs and 3 DC-9-30CFs. On July 9, a DC-8-55CF gives 158 New York City children a free 27-minute ride over the metropolitan area as part of that city’s summer youth program.
A total of 255,902 charter passengers are carried and 5.52 million freight ton-miles are flown. Revenues total $19,215,105. Profits are $2,446,694 (operating) and $1,208,889 (net).
The employee population in 1968 is 625. A third office building is now leased to house the company’s new IBM 360/20 ONAmatic computerized reservations system. A wholly owned subsidiary, Automated Terminal Services (ATS), is formed to market the company’s expertise in cargo systems. Specialized systems are designed for the USN and for BWIA (British West Indian Airways, Ltd.).
The ONA Hotel Corporation is also formed as a subsidiary to build hotels in the Caribbean; partners include the Hotel Corporation of America and Butler’s Bank, Ltd. Eight Lockheed L-188A Electra freighters are purchased during the first quarter from National Airlines for conversion into freighters, while a DC-9-30CF and a DC-8-63CF are also delivered. A passenger-configured L-188A is leased from Eastern Air Lines for a year.
Bookings increase 18.6% to 279,000 and 54.2 million freight ton-miles are flown. Revenues accelerate by 58% to $30,128,000. The operating profit is $5,765,567 and the net is $3,303,793.
The workforce in 1969 is increased to 862. Beginning in March, ONA is the first U. S. supplemental permitted to operate charter flights to the U. S.S. R.; in cooperation with Vacations West and Intourist, the airline launches its first all-inclusive charter on March 2. Two DC-9-33s are delivered in March and are dedicated to providing replacement service for ALM Antillean Airlines, N. V., now owned by the Dutch Antillean government.
In April, a DC-8-63 is leased from The Flying Tiger Line for 18 months. Another DC-8-63 arrives in May followed by a third in June, plus a DC-9-33. Operations personnel evaluate acquisition of either the Lockheed L-1011 or the DC-10-30.
Freight ton-miles flown ascend to 114,042,000 and revenues advance to $60,728,000. While there is a $1,768,000 operating profit, the net side of the ledger shows a loss of $677,353.
In 1970, orders are placed for two DC-10-30CFs, as a fifth DC-8-63 and two more Electra freighters join the fleet. ALM Antillean Airlines, N. V. On May 2, Flight 980, an ONA DC-9-33 en route from New York to St. Martin with 63 aboard, ditches off St. Croix after running low on fuel during a tropical storm (23 dead). The first company hotel, a 400-room facility at Nassau, opens at year’s end.
There is a 17% increase in freight ton-miles flown (137.4 million) and revenues jump 4.38% to $63.4 million.
Expenses rise 5.9% to create an operating loss of $1.2 million. Nontransport income, however, turns a certain net loss into a $3.9-million profit.
In February 1971, the company wet-leases a DC-8-61 to Saber Air, Ltd. For the next six months until the contract ends, the Douglas operates long-haul charter flights to London on behalf of the Singapore-based airline.
Employing a DC-8-63 wet-leased from ONA, Air Siam, Ltd. initiates freight and also a twice-weekly passenger service from Bangkok to Los Angeles via Tokyo and Honolulu on March 31.
A passenger-configured L-188C is leased from Lockheed during the year to undertake several specific inclusive tour charters.
Freight grows significantly as cargo ton-miles flown ascend to 147.61 million. Orders are placed for two DC-10-30CFs.
In fiscal and labor difficulty, Air Siam, Ltd. is shut down on January 11, 1972. The DC-8 is returned to ONA, which is left holding an Air Siam debt for $2 million in lease fees. The debt is settled when Air Siam, Ltd. Chairman Prince Varanand transfers several choice parcels of his personal Bangkok property to the American supplemental carrier.
Two additional L-188AFs are acquired in midyear, but as the Vietnam conflict reaches a conclusion for the U. S., military charters fall off significantly.
Cargo traffic this year drops 1.73%. The nation’s third largest supplemental carrier is, however, supported by an increase in passenger boardings from the civilian sector. Charter traffic increases 22% as 411,000 vacationers are transported. Revenues are $64,504,000, but expenses are $65,649,000. Consequently, losses are felt: $1.14 (operating) and $2.03 million (net).
The workforce in 1973 totals 1,048. The two DC-10-CFs ordered earlier enter service in May. The fleet is further realigned as the carrier purchases three DC-8-21s and a DC-8-61 from Eastern Air Lines and leases three of its own DC-8-61s to other airlines.
On June 20, a DC-8-63 is involved in an accident at Bangor, Maine. The last of 13 Lockheed Electras is purchased in September; it will be used for spare parts.
Customer boardings jump 23.8% on the year to 509,000, but cargo traffic is down by 18.3%. Income is $69.18 million, but expenses zoom to $75.62 million, due largely to the fuel crisis. The operating loss is $6.44 million and the net loss is $4.12 million.
A total of 216 passengers are laid off in 1974. The New York-based supplemental continues to realign its fleet during the year. All 10 active Lockheed Electra freighters are sold (mostly to Zantop International Airlines) and replaced by four more DC-8-61s. Enplanements increase by 10% to 562,020; however, freight is off by 18%. Total income is $82.72 million while expenses are $82.16 million. The operating income is $565,000 and this year a net profit $2.06 million is recorded.
The workforce in 1975 is 1,009. In celebration of the nation’s Bicentennial, one DC-8, christened Independence, is painted and flown as an airborne American flag; the front half of the fuselage is painted blue and given stars and the logo “USA, 1776-1976,” while the rear is decorated in red and white stripes. The aircraft proves the most fanciful ever flown by any U. S. carrier save those operated by Braniff International Airways. Travel group charter flights and one-stop travel charters are now offered, in addition to worldwide military charter flights, which this year include participation in the so-called Vietnam baby lift.
While on takeoff roll from New York (JFK) on a ferry flight to Frankfurt and Jeddah on November 12, a DC-10-30CF with 10 crew and 129 passengers, mostly airline personnel, encounters a huge flock of birds, many of them striking the wide-body. The crew is forced to reject the takeoff and although no injuries are reported, the aircraft, especially its engines, is badly damaged.
Passenger boardings increase 8% to 606,606 and FTKs are down to 90 million. Income is $95.12 million and expenses are $94.49 million. As a result, the operating profit is $626,000 and the net gain is $2.76 million.
The employee population is cut 39% in 1976 to 604. Another DC-10-30CF is destroyed as the result of a heavy landing at Istanbul’s Yesikoy Airport on January 2; no injuries are reported. Early in the year, the carrier is taken over by the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York. In anticipation of the receipt of newly ordered Douglas wide-bodies, the carrier during the year withdraws its seven DC-8-30s and three DC-8-20s.
Among these is the Independence, withdrawn at year’s end after undertaking a special series of student charters to Washington, D. C.
Customer bookings, despite marketing with a Bicentennial emphasis, decline 5.7% to 572,000. Freight traffic does worse, falling by 25.5% to 67.06 million FTKs. Revenues drop to $88.06 million and expenses shoot up to $100.7 million. This unhappy imbalance results in a huge $12.66-million operating loss and a net failure of $3.92 million.
At the beginning of 1977, the last full year of service, Chairman
E. B. Ory and President J. W. Bailey oversee a workforce of 320 and operate a fleet that includes 4 DC-8-63Fs, 4 DC-8-61Fs and 4 DC-9-30Fs.
A DC-80-63CF with 4 crew crashes 2,500 ft. short of the runway at Niamey, Niger, on March 4 (2 dead).
In April, the CAB grants ONA authority to operate its civilian charter program worldwide, excepting Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.
Two DC-10-30CFs remain on order to supplement the two that arrive in May and June and begin in midyear to operate enhanced charter flights. United Air Carriers is established on July 21 as a Part 129 contract leasing company.
Enplanements for the year total 352,013. Additional large losses are suffered.
Unfortunately for the company’s future, the financial picture grows so desperate that the only option left is to declare Chapter XI bankruptcy on September 7, 1978. Prior to this event, Overseas witnesses a drop of 60.7% in boardings, down to 219,000. Unable to reorganize and resume operations under its original name, the charter carrier’s name is purchased by the surviving subsidiary leasing company, United Air Carriers, early in 1979 and the reborn Overseas National Airways (2) is able to recertify in 1980 as a Part 121 charter operator. The leasing concern remains in business, offering aircraft to other carriers. For example, it provides the DC-8-55 that allows the new entrant Elan Air to begin flying in early 1981.
ONA-2 gains authority for overseas charter services on routes similar to those held earlier. The operating certificate of its now-dormant predecessor is withdrawn on May 19, 1982, even as ONA-2 is given scheduled service authority, which it will not initiate.
A B-747-243B, formerly flown by Alitalia, S. p.A., is leased on June 14, 1983 and transatlantic passenger charters from New York (JFK) resume at month’s end. Two more Jumbojets, a Dash-143 and a Dash-243B, are also leased from Boeing during July.
During December, the company changes its name to National Airways, flying under that title for a short time before purchasing rights to and adopting the name National Airlines (2), held by Pan American World Airways (1) since its purchase of National Airlines (1) at the beginning of the decade.
World History
